﻿EFS, Green Crescent Trust to educate out of school children

KARACHI: Education Fund for Sindh – EFS (a company set up under section 42 of the Companies Ordinance, 1984) signed an MoU with Green Crescent Trust (GCT) today at EFS headquarters whereby EFS will provide the necessary support to GCT to open 37 new schools in the underprivileged areas of Karachi. EFS, with the help of its funding partner, the UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID), aims to facilitate GCT in enrolling 7,400 Out of School Children by the year 2015-16.

The collaboration project is divided into two phases; first phase will target enrolling 5,000 students in 25 new schools while the second phase will seek to enrol 2,400 children in 12 additional new schools by 2016. The collaboration will offer good quality, cost-effective education in the poverty stricken areas of Karachi like Orangi, Baldia, New Karachi, Korangi, Landhi, Bin Qasim and Malir where the number of Out of School Children is exceptionally high. The initiative will allow these Out of School Children to receive primary education with the hope to eventually empower them to explore significant employment opportunities for self-sustenance and better living standard.

Speaking about this alliance, Khawaja Adeel Aslam, CEO – EFS, said, “EFS is committed to enabling easy access to good quality, cost effective education for every child in Pakistan. Our partnership with GCT will take us a step closer to the realization of this dream. Understanding the urgency of addressing the education crisis in Pakistan, any initiative that provides access to education to Out of School Children is a direct investment in a bright and progressive future of our country. This partnership would not have been possible without the support of DFID; they are our biggest supporters in this cause and we are thankful to them for entrusting us to contribute towards the education sector of Pakistan.”

Talking about the project, Zahid Saeed, CEO, GCT said, “Our aim is to empower children from the most neglected sects of society by giving them the two things every child deserves the most: an education, and the desire to pass on that gift to their own children one day, thus creating a much-needed ripple effect of education in Sindh. Our invaluable partnership with EFS that will enable us to send even more street children to schools, where they belong, is a huge step towards realizing this goal.”

Under one of its programs called “Intermediaries”, EFS in synergy with GCT is creating new avenues to improve the quality of education and to meet growing infrastructure demands, especially in the most poverty-stricken areas of Karachi. Currently the total number of OOSC now enrolled by EFS is 60,000 of which more than 35,500 children is with various intermediary partners.